Text messaging poses rising danger of injury

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, August 17, 2008

Yatsko
, who lives in Monroe, estimates he sends about 100 text messages a day to his girlfriend and various other friends and acquaintances.

It's his preferred form of communication, he said, because he can do it almost anywhere at almost any time.

"I can send a text message at times when it's impossible to make a cell phone call," said Yatsko, who will be a sophomore at Quinnipiac University in Hamden in the fall.

For instance, he can send a quick text while doing homework or while having a face-to-face conversation with someone else.

But, Yatsko said, there are times when it's inappropriate to text. He wouldn't do it while driving, for example, or while crossing the street.

And then there's this recurring admonition from a loved one: "My mother tells me not to do it when walking down the stairs," he said.

There's no doubt that text messaging is quickly eclipsing cell phone conversations as the preferred method of communication, particularly among teens and twenty-somethings.

According to the
Cellular Telecommunications
and Internet Association -- an international nonprofit organization representing all sectors of the wireless communications industry -- the number of text messages sent in the United States more than doubled between 2006 and 2007, from 158 billion to 363 billion.

However, texting is also emerging as a serious health risk. Dr.
Linda Lawrence
, president of the
American College
of Emergency Physicians, said doctors in emergency rooms all over the country have observed a rise in injuries and deaths related to sending texts at the wrong time, such as while walking or driving.

Injuries range from those who take minor spills because they trip while texting, to those who have been hit by cars and even killed because they were distracted by their wireless devices.

"This is definitely a new injury pattern we're seeing, and it's really concerning," Lawrence said. "People are dying because they're texting and walking at the same time."

She said people think they can walk while texting, just as they can walk while talking on a cell phone. But, unlike talking on the phone, sending a text message requires the user to look at the screen of his or her wireless device.

When your eyes are on the screen, Lawrence said, that means they aren't on steep curbs or cars speeding by. "Essentially, you're walking blind."

Several doctors said they hadn't seen a rash of text-related injuries, but they think it's only a matter of time before such accidents become commonplace.

"There's not a lot of hard data at this point, but there's clearly a growing number of injuries out there," said Dr.
Philip Brewer
, medical director at Quinnipiac University.

He hasn't personally seen such an injury yet, but it's something he worries about, especially since texting is ubiquitous on college campuses.

Brewer said he's had students receive, and answer, messages while he's interviewing them about medical issues. "It's clearly become a widespread thing."

Brewer said people have long been distracted by their electronic devices, and this is just the latest example.

Previously, cell phone conversations were the big culprit. In response to that, a 2005 law made it illegal to use a hand-held cell phone, or another hand-held electronic communication device, while driving in Connecticut.

Text messaging is just the next wave of electronic distraction, said
Bryan Jordan
, associate chairman of emergency medicine at
Bridgeport Hospital
. Though the cell phone law also makes it illegal to text while driving, Jordan said he sees people doing it on a regular basis.

"They think they can just go down the road and text while driving."

Jordan said he hasn't seen anyone come to the hospital with a text messaging-related injury, but it's possible some patients are loath to admit the real reason they were hurt. When someone is in an accident, particularly a car accident, "the last thing they want to do is admit they are at fault."